Pastime

I don't put much faith in teams that "look good on paper." I can remember the 1994 Mets who were supposed to "win it all," and man that team was loaded. They had Pete Schourek, Dwight Gooden, Frank Tanana, Brett Saberhagen, Sid Fernandez, John Franco and David Cone on their pitching staff, and Vince Coleman, Jeff Kent, Bobby Bonilla, Howard Johnson, Jeromy Burnitz, Eddie Murray, Howard Johnson, and Todd Hundley (when he was good) in their lineup. Yet that team STUNK UP the joint for the whole season, and the "paper champions" ended up as a bottomfeeder. This Sox team doesn't have the lofty expectations hanging over their heads this year, and most people have counted them out. So, let them use that as a rallying cry, and let's see what magic Ozzie has stored in his pockets. In other words, let's start playing the games and see what happens. If we're going to just go by what's predicted on paper, then why even play the damn games? Just cancel the seasons of 24 teams and start the playoffs in April.

I only wish we had a couple of "long relievers" - guys who can come into a game and give you 2-5 innings when needed. Ala Terry Mulholland, Kirk Rueter, etc. I fear that the bullpen could get burned out early, but we do have some young arms in the minors who are on the verge of being big leaguers, so that's even MORE to be optimistic about.

To me, Griffey Jr. is an enigma. When he was in Seattle, he was one of the best 3 players in baseball, and rarely suffered injuries. He goes to Cincinnati, and all of a sudden, he's a china doll. Some people say the stress of playing in his hometown affected his numbers, but stress doesn't explain how he keeps getting season-ending injuries.

What do YOU do in this situation to give your team the BEST chance at upsetting the Giants? I trade for Paul Konerko this very minute.

I'm optimistic that one of our young pitchers will rise up to the occasion, grab the 5th spot in the rotation, and perform better than we could have expected. My biggest concern is how we're going to replace 225 innings and 15 wins (Fatolo Colon's numbers).

I actually like their solo stuff better than I ever liked their stuff with "The Beatles." But I was born in 1971, so I have bias. My favorite Beatles album is "Abbey Road." Not that it means anything.

He was probably talking smack to guys from Southern California all year, until his team got its ass mauled and crushed in the Rose Bowl, so he needs to find someone to try to gain superiority over. Try again - it won't be here. Enjoy your snow, your lack of tourism, your pissant town, and your long-standing reputation as a "bridesmaid." Someday you'll catch the bouquet, but it won't be in the A.L.'s Central Division. But wait, you can claim the Webber/Howard/Rose Wolverines as your very own. Great teams! But those wins don't count, right? It's gotta suck that those teams won ZERO games officialy due to forfeits and illegal transactions. Too bad, so sad. But hey, you always have the Lions. HA HA HA HA HA! But you're new here, so welcome aboard!! Just try to not offend so many of us veterans when you post. We're very sensitive and mean. Welcome aboard!

Run that prospectus crap in the PITCHING STAFFS, and then see what you find. Buehrle's, Loaiza's, and Garland's TOTAL WINS were MORE than the whole Detoilet team. Garland, Loaiza, Buehrle - 47 wins Detoilet's WHOLE staff - 43 wins AAAAUUUUHHHH. Please try again. Your first attempt was unsuccessful and clueless. And Buehrle had a down year. Nice try, though. Pfffft.

A Cubs fan? Or just a moron? Probably both - they go hand in hand. Look at that pitching staff, look at that lineup, and look at that overall roster. That pile of s*** will win 60 games? Maybe in Birmingham or Tacoma. Wow - you're either delusional or just drunk. Or maybe just a lobotomized chimp. Our pitching staff has 3 proven starters, and a guy who WAS a proven starter with the Angels. Our lineup has 4 former All-Stars, a bunch of proven hitters, and a future All-Star. We also have a manager who is a motivator and a student of the game. And Juan Uribe would be the starting shortstop on the pissant Tiggers. Oh yeah - we can add players in mid-season when we're CONTENDING. Meanwhile, the Tiggers will be lucky to be looking up to 25 wins at midseason. Good luck. But you have I-Rod. I-Rod - The savior - wait until his hangnail becomes his season-ending injury. Don't strain too hard when you're taking a s*** tomorrow - your brain might plop out into the toilet bowl.

Greg Maddux told a Las Vegas newspaper that there were 4 teams interested in him. We know the Cubs, Cardinals, and Dodgers are interested, but who is the 4th team? I say the 4th team is ...... the White Sox! I knew all those tirrades against Kenny would work. Nice job, people.

That's bulls***. D'Angelo Jimenez, Willie Harris, and Tony Graffanino were more than adequate, and they were always on base waiting to get driven in - how can you argue that? Those guys could flat out hit the s*** out of a baseball. Ty Cobb would bow to them. Yeah, they were always thrown out at a base, or too stupid to know how to act in the basepaths, but my argument still stands. Maggs sucks.

99.6% of people do not play fantasy baseball, especially I would guess Cubs fans. It's hard to participate in fantasy baseball when you are too drunk and/or too stupid to know how to use a computer. :fthecubs

I go out on a limb and say that Jason Grilli is our 5th starter by mid-June, and then wins 12 games. Ala Jason Bere, circa 1993.

Winn doesn't have that kind of arm. Did you ever watch Lance "One Dog" Johnson play? It wasn't important when he was patrolling CF.

Why shouldn't we get Griffey? We can get a lot out of guys who are on their last legs and whose careers are over. Just look at George Foster, Steve Carlton, Jerry Reuss, Charlie Hough, Greg Luzinski, Tom Seaver, George Bell, and Todd Ritchie.

Keep in mind that Jamie Moyer was about 30 years old when he finally "got it" and the proverbial light bulb lit up above his head. Cotts doesn't have the experience, savvy, or moxie of a veteran pitcher - or the confidence. I don't know if he'll get it with the Sox - or with another team. I do think he'll get it, but I hope it's sooner rather than later. Much like David Wells helped Mark Buehrle and helped him to "turn a corner," I'd like to see Buehrle do the same with Cotts. In other words, take him under his wing, so to say. Ozzie Guillen preaches this "family atmosphere" stuff all the time, so I hope it's true. Wait and see, I guess.

He'll be asking to be traded by September. You made a typo. You spelled May as "SEPTEMBER." It happens to the best of us. It's I-Rod's division? LMAO!! Is he going to pitch, field, and hit for the other guys as well - like Bugs Bunny did in that old cartoon? Please. That team couldn't win 60 games with magic dust, smoke, mirrors, 4-leaf clovers, rabbits feet, and a horseshoe stuck up every one of their asses. I-Rod continues to show that he has s***-for-brains. Enjoy last place - you remember that very well from your Ranger days, don't you? Idiot. He'll find some pansy injury in May or early June to milk because he's bored with losing day after day.

Cheat, If you could create a signature for me with Comiskey Park in the background with Nellie Fox, Frank Thomas, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Joe Crede, and Jeremy Reed (or whatever), that would be awesome. Maybe you could call it "where the past and future come together " or something like that. With a Sox logo? You're the creative one - I defer to you. I thank you with all my heart and soul, and I will be happy to not only buy you a beer, but a salad and Kosher dog as well. Please don't laugh, but I like the salads at US Cellular. They're fresh and flavorful to me. Whatever. Thanks to you again. God bless.

Muchas gracias, mi amigo. Feliz dia!

A filet mignon at the Chicago Chop House. A lobster and mussels buffet at Carly's in Bar Harbor, Maine. A turkey and swiss pita sandwich at the Broadway Deli in New York City. A grouper sandwich at Samuel's in Victoria, British Columbia. A teriaki sirloin at the Waikiki Steakhouse in Honolulu, Hawaii. A filet of mahi mahi at Duds in Key West, Florida. A California Pizza Kitchens BBQ chicken pizza in San Diego. A T-Bone steak at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant in Las Vegas. A malibu chicken entree at Smitty's in Phoenix, Arizona. A scallop dinner at Rosie's in Nova Scotia. A roast beef and giardinera at Roma's in Chicago. A Kosher Dog at Comiskey Park. A crawfish buffet in New Orleans at Sammy's. A lobster and crab feast at the No Name Restaurant in Boston. An all-you-can-eat shrimp, crab, and shellfish buffet in Biloxi, Mississippi at the Boomtown Casino. A large all-topping pizza at Geno's East in Chicago. A buffalo chicken sandwich in Denver at the Hard Rock Cafe. The clam chowder in sourdough feast at Clem's in San Francisco. A "super sub" at Dixie's Sandwich Shop in Sacramento, CA. A halibut dinner at the Crest Restaurant in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. A "fish and chips" dinner at Crow's in London. My mom's spaghetti. My wife's lasagna. My Chicken Vesuvius.

It seems like I've seen some really kickass new signatures at the bottom of people's posts lately, and I would like to know how they created them. I know I'm an old fart with no computer skills to speak of, but how are these new signatures being created? I'll now crawl back under my rock.

Pearl Jam - Ten The Beatles - White Album The Rolling Stones - Exile On Main Street Pink Floyd - The Wall Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream Fleetwood Mac - Rumors U2 - The Joshua Tree Led Zeppelin - Zoso (4th album) Carole King - Tapestry Deep Purple - Machine Head Journey - Escape Alice In Chains - Dirt The Beatles - Abbey Road Cream - Desraeli Gears Chicago - Chicago 17 Boston - Boston (self-titled) Black Sabbath - Paranoid Billy Joel - The Stranger Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory Nirvana - Nevermind Beastie Boys - Licensed To Ill Dr. Dre - The Chronic Eminem - The Real Slim Shady The Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack Warren Zevon - Exciteable Boy Guns 'N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction The Beatles - Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band The Beatles - Rubber Soul Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John Are You Experienced? - Jimi Hendrix Who's Next - The Who London Calling - The Clash Billy Joel - 52nd Street Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon Imagine - John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band Band On The Run - Wings Steely Dan - Aja Steely Dan - Pretzel Logic Supertramp - Breakfast In America Neil Young - After The Gold Rush The Police - Synchronicity Tommy - The Who Back In Black - AC/DC Moondance - Van Morrison The Doors - The Doors (self-titled) Velvet Underground and Nico - Velvet Underground Reign In Blood - Slayer Neil Young - Decade

Pink Floyd - "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" Remember when you were young You shone like the Sun Shine on, you crazy diamond ! Now there's a look in your eyes Like black holes in the sky Shine on, you crazy diamond ! You were caught on the crossfire Of childhood and stardom Blown on the steel breeze Come on, you target for faraway laughter Come on, you stranger, you legend, you martyr And shine ! You reached for the secret too soon You cried for the Moon. Shine on, you crazy diamond ! Threatened by shadows at night And exposed in the light Shine on, you crazy diamond ! Well you wore out your welcome With random precision Rode on the steel breeze Come on, you raver, you seer of visions Come on, you painter, you piper, you prisoner And shine ! Nobody knows where you are How near or how far Shine on, you crazy diamond ! Pile on many more layers And I'll be joining you there Shine on, you crazy diamond ! And we'll bask in the shadow Of yesterday's triumph And sail on the steel breeze Come on, you boy child, you winner and loser Come on, you miner for truth and delusion And shine !

Hey, Nuke, From what I've read around here, I assume you're overseas somewhere defending our country. If no one has said this recently, THANK YOU. God bless you and protect you. You are a true American hero. Be careful, and take care. And for the record, I've been to Cleveland twice - and I am so sorry I ever was there. What a dump. I felt like showering for an hour after both trips. So I agree - NUKE CLEVELAND. :usa

Keep in mind that the "shuffling" of their rotation may knock a few guys out of rhythm - which could hurt their team chemistry. I still think Pettite and Clemens are in for a rude awakening once they get a real taste of that stadium. It'a a homer haven. If they don't live up to expectations, and they might not, then the Cubs will excel in that division. That makes me very upset and angry. :banghead